Footwear Execs at Coterie Talk Tariffs and What’s Selling for Fall ’25
Much like the sentiment heard at FFANY and Atlanta Shoe Market, attendees at Coterie and Magic New York this week were optimistic about 2025 business despite the threat of more tariffs.
“Of course, we would prefer not to have added costs to our product, but the majority of our range is not affected by the tariff increases,” Steven Weinreb, president of Gola USA, told FN. “Overall, buyers are definitely being more cautious in their selections. However, when they know a style is working, they are happy to place orders more aggressively.”
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Show leadership has noticed the buzz of tariffs amongst vendors as well. “There’s conversations around tariffs, for sure, but not as much as I expected,” Purvi Kanji, vice president of Coterie, said in an interview.
Indeed, the positive mood was the common theme this season at New York City’s Javits Center, which hosted Coterie and Magic between Feb. 18–20. The co-located shows featured the latest footwear, apparel and accessories to retailers as market appointments start to wind down for the fall 2025 buying season.
According to Kanji, there were 70 footwear brands on the Coterie show floor, with about 10 new companies joining the fair this season.
As for trends, Gola’s Weinreb noted that heritage athletic sneakers are “very strong” in the market right now. “Any time we get to talk about our heritage (we will be turning 120 years old in May of this year), it is a win for us,” Weinreb said. “Gola has several different styles that are working at retail now, and our breadth of assortment can show off our entire brand. With that said, the Elan style would be our best-selling style currently.”
Jenny Foy, vice president of sales at Marc Fisher Footwear, noted that high shaft boots and loafers are selling well this season. “Other things that have been really good in previous seasons, we’re building on now is the blunted or snipped toes with the blocky heels,” Foy said. “So, we’re taking those into high shafted boots, because, as I was saying, high shaft has been really good for us.”
And new to the show was Brooklyn-based luxury footwear brand Sunni Sunni.
For this season, designer Sunni Dixon was showcasing his latest concept – a preview of his apparel release. Called the Overflow, the model comes in sweatpants and suiting and is considered a hybrid footwear meets pant design. Another standout piece was the Blucher Split Runner, a deconstructed sneaker. “The new Overflow is a play on the trend of people wearing oversized pants that sort of cover most of the shoe,” Dixon said. “So this design gives them the pant and the shoe all in one look.”
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